When it comes to items on your bucket list, scuba diving is a popular choice. According to the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), this underwater activity attracts over three million scuba divers in the U.S. and as many as six million scuba divers around the globe.

When I told my friends and family that I was going to teach English abroad, I got many reactions, from “You don’t speak Spanish, so how can you teach English in South America?” to “that’s not a real job.”

It is no secret that travel can be as cheap or expensive as your personal preferences require. Just know, that if you’re on a tight budget and can’t suppress your wanderlust, travel is still obtainable.

As I pulled up the driveway of Gardenripe Farm, I saw a middle-aged man with a blue cap appear on the porch of a modest white house. He walked up to my driver side window to greet me, “you must be lost,” he said smiling.

If you’re willing to get a little muddy, and don’t mind misty air in your hair, there is a private fairytale-esque waterfall at the bottom of a mossy forest outside of Scotts Mills Oregon, waiting just for you.

I lay in the warmth of the thick wool blankets I’m cocooned between, hoping to prolong the moment. If I stay put, I can maintain the shield of body heat I’ve created during the night. I decide to take a peak outside, and let whatever is waiting for me determine my next move.

First came the snow, then the rain, and more snow mixed with hail for good measure. But when the clouds parted to reveal endless snowcapped mountain ranges gleaming in the fresh sunbeams, I forgave the weather for being fickle.

About Me

Welcome! I’m Anna, a writer and digital storyteller with an appetite for adventure, a desire for simplicity, and nomadic tendencies. Hence why I live in a self-converted, solar-powered van with my dog Cagney!